by Yo-Ling Chen

語言:
English
Photo Credit: Brian Hioe

THIS PAST WEEK, controversy erupted throughout Taiwan’s LGBTQ+ community after it was discovered that the Administrative and Public Relations Director of this year’s Taiwan Pride march posted on her personal Threads account content that was deemed as transphobic, against sexual rights, and even contemptuous towards the work of previous Taiwan Pride organizers. This discovery sparked widespread outrage amongst Taiwan’s LGBTQ+ community, with multiple individuals and organizations criticizing Pride organizers and speaking up in support of transgender people and sexual rights.

What Exactly Was Said that Sparked Controversy?

TAIWAN PRIDE is currently planned and organized by the Taiwan Rainbow Civil Action Association (TWRCAA, 臺灣彩虹公民行動協會), which was established in 2012 to handle administrative matters related to Taiwan Pride but was not originally the main Taipei Pride parade organizer. In the early morning of October 5th, Belle Chiu, TWRCAA employee and Administrative and Public Relations Director of the 2025 Taiwan Pride leadership team, posted on her personal Threads account that she is “against pedophilia, against legal gender change without surgery, against surrogacy, [and] against psychological gender identity” (我反對戀童癖 我反對免術換證 我反對代理孕母 我反對心理性別認同). Belle further added that, in her personal view when it comes to these issues, “it feels like I am watching the trash left behind by my predecessors continue to stink up the room” (有種看著前人留下來的垃圾持續發臭的感覺).

Belle’s Threads posts were made in the comments of a post by anti-trans Threads account @p60135_, which called on those who were “against surrogacy, against legal gender change without surgery, against psychological gender identity, [and] against pedophilia” to consider whether they would want to attend this year’s Taiwan Pride parade given this year’s theme of “Beyond Links: More Than Clicks.” In Taiwan Pride’s Theme Statement this year, TWRCAA expressed concern over anti-DEI rollbacks and trends in the United States and called on Taiwanese society “to move past superficial online interactions and symbols” and “[transcend] entrenched labels and prejudice … to rebuild authentic, meaningful connections so that we can truly understand one another.” Ironically, Belle’s response to @p60135_’s post did the exact opposite of this year’s stated theme and goals.

Screenshots of Belle Chiu’s Threads posts in response to @p60135_ by @guaigay_maishta

Belle’s post was soon noticed by members of Taiwan’s LGBTQ+ community, with a Threads post by @guaigay_maitsha exposing the incident to a broader audience later that day. @guaigay_maitsha was able to do some clarification communication with Belle on Threads, which prompted her to clarify that she made her post because she was unhappy with the possibility of people assuming that “the entire [TWRCAA] team’s position was in support of surrogacy and legal gender change without surgery” (將整個團隊的立場指認為支持代孕、免術而感到不悅); Belle further stated that “if anyone felt unwell when they saw the sentence ‘against psychological gender identity’ [in my post], I hereby apologize” (若有人因為「反對心理性別認同」這句話看了感到不適，在此致歉) and that she thought that “every person’s gender identity should be defined based on their own desires, but when it comes to legal gender change, I think that Taiwan’s system [where legal gender change without surgery is possible through administrative court appeal] is not ideal” (每個人的性別認同應該依照自己所想所認定，但在換證上，我認為台灣的制度尚未完善).

Screenshot of clarification post by Belle in conversation with/by @guaigay_maishta

LGBTQ+ Community Members and Organizations Outraged as TWRCAA Remains Silent

MANY LGBTQ+ community members were understandably outraged by Belle’s controversial comments on Threads, with some declaring that they will personally boycott Taiwan Pride this year in protest of TWRCAA employing someone with divisive views. For instance, on October 9th, @yawarukas posted on Instagram stating: “Because Belle, the PR director of this year’s Taipei Pride organizing committee, has openly excluded transgender people, I hereby publicly boycott Taipei Pride. No matter how long the LGBTQIA+ acronym is, not one can be left out.”

Screenshot of @yawarukas’ IG post declaring that he will boycott Taipei Pride

Other people, such as Taiwanese drag icon UG, made more veiled criticisms and statements implying a boycott. On October 9th, UG stated on Threads: “I do not care how long the acronym is, but I cannot accept refusing diverse sexual minorities. See you all at Trans March on Friday, October 24th.”

Screenshot of @ugishot’s Threads post implying boycott

Despite both explicit and implied calls to boycott Taiwan Pride by LGBTQ+ community members, no organizations have called for a boycott.

Starting on October 8th, multiple LGBTQ+ organizations began issuing organizational statements regarding the incident. The Intersex, Transgender and Transsexual People Care Association (ISTSCare, 台灣性別不明關懷協會) was the first organization to issue its statement in the afternoon of October 8th. ISTSCare criticized the TWRCAA for failing in its duty as Taiwan Pride organizer to bring the LGBTQ+ community together, even though Belle’s comments were “of her own personal opinion and do not represent the TWRCAA’s official position.” Nevertheless, ISTSCare emphasized that the outrage to Belle’s comments was reasonable given her position as Administrative and PR Director. ISTSCare called on the TWRCAA to appropriately address this public relations crisis and explain how such comments could be made by their PR Director; to strengthen the knowledge of gender diversity amongst its employees for the sake of maintaining the organization’s reputation and social credibility; and to move beyond a simple apology and take tangible steps towards fostering understanding of the multiple identities and communities represented in Taiwan Pride.

The Taiwan Relationships Education Association (TREA, 台灣情感教育協會) and BDSM Taiwan (皮繩愉虐邦) issued a joint-statement on October 9th calling for respect for others, letting go of prejudice, and understanding of difference.

Later in the evening, Kaohsiung Pride issued its own statement emphasizing the importance of not leaving any part of the LGBTQ+ acronym behind. Notably, as more organizational statements were made, the TWRCAA remained completely silent. Kaohsiung Pride’s statement was shared by many activists, including Bunun activist and politician Savungaz Valincinan, who questioned why Kaohsiung Pride was able to release a statement calling for unity before the TWRCAA.

Image accompanying Kaohsiung Pride statement; caption reads “Kaohsiung Pride is with you in embracing every kind of existence”

Japan-based Taiwanese transgender author and winner of the prestigious Akutagawa Prize Li Kotomi (李琴峰) also wrote a Facebook post on the controversy, drawing attention to how public discourse on transgender issues has focused on treating transgender people as an “issue” rather than as “people.” Li called on the readers to not succumb to the “divide and conquer” strategies of conservative forces that seek to tear the LGBTQ+ community apart. In a subsequent Facebook post in the early evening of October 10th, Li offered her thoughts on the term “legal gender change without surgery” (免術換證) and called on the TWRCAA to “respond to this crisis and state your organization’s official position.”

Explaining the Controversy around Transgender Rights in Taiwan

BELLE’S COMMENTS about being “against legal gender change without surgery” and “against psychological gender identity” came as Taiwan’s transgender movement navigates unprecedented times of heightened visibility and explicit opposition. After same-sex marriage legalization in May 2019, there was a notable shift in resources and focus on the part of major Taiwanese LGBTQ+ organizations towards transgender rights advocacy. In October 2019, the Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association hosted the first annual Taiwan Trans March. While the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights (TAPCPR) had been working publicly with transgender plaintiffs since the summer of 2018, their strategic litigation efforts aimed at abolishing the Ministry of Interior’s requirement of sexual organ removal surgery for legal gender change ramped up in 2020. On Transgender Day of Remembrance in 2020, TAPCPR held a press conference representing transgender plaintiff Lisbeth Wu (吳宇萱) in their first strategic litigation case against compulsory surgery.

On September 23, 2021, the Taipei High Administrative Court made a historic ruling in favor of another TAPCPR plaintiff, pseudonymized as Xiao E (小E), which allowed her to become the first transgender woman in Taiwan to change her legal gender from male to female without providing proof of surgery. In the immediate aftermath of the Xiao E ruling, opposition forces organized into a newly formed anti-gender movement, most notably through the establishment of No Self ID Taiwan, which describes itself in English as “The First (and only) Gender Critical Response to Female Erasure in the Nation.” Taiwan’s anti-gender movement understands itself as part of a broader global network of organizations (primarily based in the UK) fighting for the defense of women’s sex-based rights and against the ideology of “gender identity.” In the fall of 2023, the right-wing pro-independence Taiwan Solidarity Party (then called the Taiwan Solidarity Union) attempted to run an election campaign based on transphobia and opposition to efforts to abolish compulsory surgery for legal gender in Taiwan.

Strategic litigation efforts in support of transgender rights in Taiwan have been largely successful, with numerous court wins and a firm legal consensus against compulsory surgery established in part by a Supreme Administrative Court ruling back in the fall of 2023. At the same time, the Ministry of Interior has yet to change its compulsory surgery requirement for legal gender change, much to the chagrin of transgender rights advocates. The Control Yuan is currently investigating the Ministry of Interior for their inaction on this issue.

Over the past four years since Xiao E’s historic ruling, Taiwan’s anti-gender movement has become increasingly active. Organizations such as the Taiwan Women’s Association (臺灣女性協會, est. 2023) and LGB Alliance Taiwan (臺灣LGB聯盟, est. 2024 as a chapter of the UK-based LGB Alliance) are active primarily online, alongside No Self ID Taiwan and the Taiwan Solidarity Party. In the fall of 2024, a wave of virulent anti-gender discourse swept through Taiwan, primarily online, which also included the public outing of Li Kotomi. Since the election of Donald Trump in the US, anti-gender organizations in Taiwan have been celebrating the anti-trans platform of the Trump administration.

Transgender visibility is at a historic high within Taiwan’s LGBTQ+ community; at the same time, the anti-gender movement infrastructures established in Taiwan in recent years have meant that Taiwan’s transgender movement is now caught in the crosshairs of those who seek to diminish transgender rights. The reason why Belle’s comments have evoked such an enormous response across Taiwan’s LGBTQ+ community is, in part, because of this contentious context of heightened transgender visibility and anti-gender opposition in Taiwan.

Explaining the Controversy around Sexual Rights in Taiwan

BELLE’S STATEMENT of being “against pedophilia” was in reference to the “6 Colors Manifesto” (六色宣言) issued by Taiwan Pride organizers in 2008 before the establishment of TWRCAA. The Manifesto is meant to explain what the 6 colors of the rainbow pride flag mean for Taiwan Pride, and specifically the “six color procession” format of the march; the red procession is meant to symbolize sexual rights.

In the 2018 version of the “6 Colors Manifesto,” which was posted on TWRCAA’s official website through January of 2024, the red procession section of the Manifesto stated, “We advocate for the ‘abolition of evil laws’ (廢除惡法) that have been used to clamp down on sexual autonomy.” These three laws include Article 80 of the Social Order Maintenance Act, which makes “sexual transactions” and “Soliciting with the intent to commit prostitution in public places” a fineable offense; Article 40 of the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act, which criminalizes any form of public communication deemed to “cause a child or a youth to be in danger of being subjected to sexual exploitation”; and Article 235 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of China, which criminalizes the distribution and display of “obscene writing, picture, audio record, video record, or any other object to another person.” During preparations for Taiwan Pride 2024 in the spring of 2024, the TWRCAA had silently taken down the “6 Colors Manifesto” from their official website, stating instead that “it has already been 17 years [since the Manifesto has been written], it is about time for it to be revised.”

Belle’s reference to the “6 Colors Manifesto,” as well as the TWRCAA’s own position since the spring of 2024 that the Manifesto is currently being revised. The TWRCAA’s website states that as a result of these laws, “even if someone is not trying to hook up with a minor, the police can declare that [an obscene] website might be seen by a minor and hence arrest people.” Even by the TWRCAA’s own acknowledgments, the 6 Colors Manifesto has never been about defending pedophilia, so it is quite strange that Belle would use the language of pedophilia (which was most likely borrowed from the anti-trans account post that she was responding to) to reference this section of the Manifesto.

Speaking specifically to the issue of sexual rights, the Taiwan Sex Industry & Workers’ Rights Association (TSIWRA, 性產業勞動者權益推動協會) issued its statement right before noon on October 10th. TSIWRA explained that even though Taiwan attempted to establish “special sex work zones” in 2011 with the supplementary provision of Article 91-1 in the Social Order Maintenance Act, there has not actually been any implementation of these zones; hence, sex workers continue to make a living in fear of being arrested under the aforementioned three laws.   With regards to Article 235 of the Criminal Code, TSIWRA explained that many sex workers who run OnlyFans or other online accounts transacting in explicit materials live constantly under threat of arrest and prosecution. Finally, TSIWRA called for an amendment of Article 40 of the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act that balances the right of minors and the rights of sex workers, adding that they “of course agree with the necessity of having this act and affirm its premise of preventing the sexual exploitation of minors.”

The Taiwan Gender Queer Rights Advocacy Alliance (TGQRAA, 台灣酷兒權益推動聯盟) issued its statement in the afternoon of October 11th, emphasizing the importance of sexual rights advocacy in the broader history of Taiwan’s LGBTQ+ movement. For instance, TGQRAA cited the 2004 incident involving GinGin Store (晶晶書庫) in Taipei, the first LGBTQ+ bookstore in the Sinophone world that was established in 1999. GinGin Store’s proprietor, Lai Jeng-jer (賴正哲), was charged under the obscenity clause of Article 235 of the Criminal Code, which was protested widely by the LGBTQ+ community and sparked by similar charges of other prominent queer activists/figures. TGQRAA emphasized in their statement that because of Lai’s case and the subsequent judicial interpretation in support of free speech, Taiwan is able to have space for sexual minority erotica today. Criticizing Belle’s contemptuous comments that this queer history is the “trash of predecessors,” TGQRAA called on people to not have a decontextualized and ahistorical understanding of Taiwan’s LGBTQ+ community.

Lastly, Hand Angel, an organization providing volunteer sexual services to people with disabilities, issued their statement in the afternoon of October 11 as well. Hand Angel acknowledged in their statement the many heinous violations of sexual autonomy in recent years, such as in Taiwan’s #MeToo movement, the Nth Room Case in South Korea, and the case of the largest child pornography website in Taiwan’s history. Hand Angel emphasized that these cases are “not in conflict with sexual rights advocacy.” Drawing attention to their specific work promoting the sexual rights of disabled people, Hand Angel mentioned how they have been unable to provide assistive masturbation services to minors due to Article 227 of the Criminal Code and Article 49 of the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act. Hand Angel cited a real case where a 15-year-old applicant who was unable to independently masturbate due to their disability reached out to Hand Angel for sexual services, but Hand Angel could only turn them away due to fear of criminal prosecution. In their statement, Hand Angel clarified that they do not advocate for the direct abolition of all the aforementioned laws, but rather hope that the discourse on sexual rights can be more inclusive of the needs of people with disabilities. Hand Angel further emphasized in their statement ties of solidarity between asexual advocacy and disability sexual rights advocacy, quoting a former TWRCAA supervisor who once said “disability is not asexual, and asexuality is not a disability” (障礙不是無性；無性不是障礙).

Perhaps the most striking decision from Hand Angel’s statement is that the organization formally decided to take themselves off of Taiwan Pride’s list of “partnering organizations” in protest of the contempt towards sexual rights displayed by Belle and the TWRCAA’s wavering support for sexual rights advocacy. While Hand Angel has de-listed themselves as a partnering organization in protest, they stated that they will still attend this year’s Taiwan Pride parade with signs in support of sexual rights.

TWRCAA’s Formal Response Receives Mixed Reception

AFTER FIVE LONG days of complete silence, the TWRCAA finally issued its statement on this public relations incident at 10 PM on October 10th. The TWRCAA made four main points in their public apology for the incident. First, the TWRCAA stated that Belle, while a full-time TWRCAA employee, does not represent the official position of the organization and that they are “deeply regretful” that Belle made these comments in the first place, which represent her “personal position.” Second, the TWRCAA reaffirmed their official position of organizing a transgender-inclusive Pride, emphasizing that this position “will not be changed due to a single incident.” Third, the TWRCAA expressed their deepest apologies to members of the trangsender community and senior LGBTQ+ activists who were harmed by this incident, emphasizing that “it is because our organization did not do due diligence in overseeing and managing the speech made by our employees in their capacity as individuals” that this incident occurred, and promising to “strengthen education training amongst employees” and “strictly enforce work rules to ensure that outward facing communications can maintain a consistent position and perspective.” Fourth, the TWRCAA apologized to all organizations, guests, sponsors, volunteers, and Pride parade participants for “causing doubts and anxieties” due to this incident. “Our position is,” the TWRCAA reaffirmed, “[that] Taiwan LGBT+ Pride will not abandon any part of the sex/gender diverse community, every person is an important partner in our movement. From start to finish, Taiwan LGBT+ Pride has and will always support transgender rights.”

While some within Taiwan’s LGBTQ+ community were satisfied with the TWRCAA’s response, many expressed criticisms of the fact that Belle maintained her position as a full-time TWRCAA employee. The TWRCAA statement mentioned that, after a board of supervisors meeting, they have “decided to remove [Belle] from her current position and adjust her professional title and responsibilities” (決議將該員調離現職，並調整其職稱與職務). In the comment sections of TWRCAA’s statement on Facebook, a minority of voices can be seen saying “I support Belle” (我挺Belle); however, many more comments expressed dissatisfaction, including but not limited to: “An employee of an LGBTQ+ rights movement organization has already gone so far as to express anti-trans views… On what basis did this employee get this job in the first place? On what basis does the organization only ‘remove the employee from their current position’ and not remove the employee completely from the movement community?” (LGBTQ+權益運動組織的員工居然反跨…這員工是靠什麼取得這分工作的？拼什麼只調離現職而不是從運動社群中被淘汰？) and “removal from current position means only changing a professional title, it is essentially a slap on the wrist…” (調離也只是換一個名稱而已，根本不痛不癢…). @guaigay_maishta, who engaged in respectful dialogue with Belle at the beginning of this incident, commented on the TWRCAA statement Facebook post with a rhetorical question: “Did her professional responsibilities get adjusted to cleaning up the stinky trash left behind by predecessors?🚮” (是改調去處理前人發臭的垃圾嗎🚮).

Stopping short of explicitly calling for Belle to be fired, TAPCPR co-founder and executive director Victoria Hsu (許秀雯) posted on Facebook shortly after the TWRCAA statement: “Q: Can an equal rights organization that considers its main mission and core values to be LGBTQ+ rights advocacy fire an employee who has publicly expressed anti-trans and anti-abolition-of-compulsory-surgery speech? A: Yes. This firing would not violate the Labor Standards Act.”

Some LGBTQ+ community members were satisfied with the TWRCAA statement. On the TWRCAA statement’s Instagram post one commenter stated: “Seems like this statement has a lot of thought and reflection in it. Honestly, even though I sense a lot of people (including myself) are still quite angry, this statement does indeed clear up a lot of suspicions, and I think that [TWRCAA] has already done all that it can do. No matter what, thank you for your hard work.”

Attending 2025 Taiwan Pride Amidst the Controversy

AT THE TIME of writing, calls to boycott Taiwan Pride have not gained any momentum, as the overwhelming majority of gender and sexual rights advocacy organizations that made statements on this incident will still be attending this year’s parade.

On the evening of October 13th, Taiwan Non-binary Queer Sluts (TWNBQS, 台灣非二元酷兒浪子) released their statement on the Taiwan Pride controversy. TWNBQS’ statement emphasized the importance of still attending Taiwan Pride this year, stating that “the more that people express trans-exclusionary speech, the more that we need to show up on the frontlines” (愈是有人發表排跨言論，愈是讓我們要走上前線). TWNBQS stated that they will attend Pride this year and carry protest signs criticizing transgender and nonbinary erasure, as well as attempts to split up the LGBTQ+ community. TWNBQS also invited everyone, regardless of identity, to walk with them during Pride this year in a spirit of unity across the LGBTQ+ community.

On the evening of October 14th, Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association also released its statement on the Taiwan Pride controversy. Hotline, the first legally registered LGBT+ NGO in Taiwan, established in 1998, emphasized in their statement that since the first Taiwan Pride parade in 2003, “LGBT+” has always been together. Hotline called on Pride participants this year to come together in unity with an awareness of our shared history, and announced that they would be distributing “Together Stronger” transgender flag badges on the day of Taiwan Pride for those who march with them at the head of the red procession.

Facebook photo accompanying statement by Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association

If you are reading this article and are looking for a group to participate in Taiwan Pride with this year, TWNBQS, along with other gender advocacy organizations who have members that are fluent in English, will be walking in the yellow procession, which symbolizes “hope” according to the “6 Color Manifesto”; Hotline will be leading the red procession  (which symbolizes “sexual rights”), is distributing “Together Stronger” transgender flag badges, and also has members who are fluent in English.
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